Belated birthday post

We celebrated Agent H's fifth birthday at the beginning of last month. I can't believe I'm so late in posting about it! Actually I think I'm still in denial. My firstborn babe, my first personal experience with birth and becoming a mom is actually five years old.

Agent H has a buddy (Agent E!) with whom he shares the exact same birth date - we met up with him and his family at Chuck E Cheese for a joint party. Ah yah, good times!

Then our great extended family came over to celebrate.

Here's Agent H riding his new bike from papa and I.

Waiting encouragement

It is our duty and our privilege to wait upon the Lord in service, in worship, in expectancy, in trust all the days of our life. Our faith will be a tried faith, and if it be of the true kind, it will bear continued trial without yielding. We shall not grow weary of waiting upon God if we remember how long and how graciously He once waited for us.
-Charles Spurgeon

16 days left on that baby counter on my sidebar over there. I just needed a little "waiting" encouragement.

A Fella's quilt

Thanks to my mom for helping out with the piecing (not my favorite sewing task) a little fella's quilt is coming along. Now I get to have the fun of stitching.

Potty 's coming!

"Potty 's coming!" Little E's quote of the week/month (?). This last Monday (after 5 wet diapers) he actually made it to his potty on time 4 times! We came up with a little chant based on one of his favorite books. "Stop potty, Stop!" (as we race/lumber up the stairs) and then "Go potty, Go!" (when he's sitting). Know the book? Go Dog, Go! It's hit or miss as to whether he remembers the potty but it's encouraging that he's becoming more and more conscious of what's going on. I was not going to try potty training him just before this baby is born . . . but if he's interested I think we'll go for it.

A good deal

Hey,
In case you're in the market for some diapers, natural baby products, or BPA free bottles, check out diapers.com. They have ads in lots of magazines offering $10 off and free shipping on your first order of $50. Those of you who buy diapers know that doesn't take long. I ordered up a case of Seventh Generation (because they are chlorine free) newborn size at a low price I haven't seen anywhere. What did I spend my free $10 on? Another package of diapers. :) Use the code "cookie2" for the special deal when you check out.

For those of you who are curious what happened to my cloth diapers, I'll still be using them but my smallest size still swallows up a little newborn so I'll use disposable for just a bit before he/she get swaddled up in all the cottony goodness of my cloth ones.

Putting that crock pot to use

I found a fun blog about crock-potting! I'm planning some meals to make up ahead of time for when this babe joins us on the "other side". Most of my plans are coming from the book The Freezer Cooking Manual from 30 Day Gourmet but the crock pot is another good way to go without heating up the kitchen with oven use. This lady is using her crock pot every day for a full year and is posting all her recipes. Wow! Anyway, here's her blog, A Year of CrockPotting, if you'd like to get in on the action. Tonight we're going to try her Peppercorn Steak. Enjoy!

Coming home

This is it. The end of a very long week. EH has been up serving at camp since last Sunday and I'm very relieved that he will be home tonight. Of course it would be a bit premature for our babe to be born right now but each time I go to the doc they keep saying "if labor starts now, we're not going to stop it", which of course gets the "what if" factor going. Each morning this week I have breathed a sigh of relief to have made it through another night with no midnight run to the hospital.

The boys and I kept busy doing who knows what all week and Agent H got to spend the weekend up at camp with EH. (Thank you SO much to Auntie J who brought him up and big cousin A who talked Star Wars robots the whole way up with him!) So this weekend Little E and I have been hanging out together. We hit up a parade yesterday and went to visit a friend who had a booth at a craft show yesterday. (She makes and sells the best cards I have ever seen with her Stampin' Up products, check out her blog here) This morning we joined my parents for a service at church.

At long last I can blog about being home alone, if anyone wants to come rob a helpless pregnant woman they have exactly 6 hours to do so! Be my guest but I'll warn you I have a diaper pail of nasty cloth diapers that I can hurl and Little E's got a good bite!

See you soon sweetheart!

Summer snacking

Our popsicle molds have been put to good use this summer. Cascadian Farms frozen juice concentrates are on sale this month at the co-op so we're stocking up so we can keep the freezer stocked with ice cold treats. Another one of our favorites are these freezy type treats by Cool Fruits. They're not organic but they don't contain any added sugar or artificial colors. They are on sale at our local co-ops as well this month. How could I forget . . . our Snoopy Snowcone maker! Another favorite summer treat. We just squirt the juice concentrate over the crushed ice and it's delicious.

Strawberry picking

Cool breezes, quiet conversations among pickers, the warmth of the sun pressing against our backs and the sweetness of fresh strawberries.That was yesterday morning. My mom and I went strawberry picking at a local farm. I did some research on the farm and their website says they try to practice "green" farming and are moving in that direction more and more every year. Since strawberries are considered to be one of the crops most highly treated with pestisides, organic berries are very important to me. My freezer is now packed with strawberries ready for making our favorite smoothies. This afternoon I'm going to try preparing some freezer jam. I found a type of pectin, Pomona's Universal Pectin, that doesn't call for the huge amounts of sugar normally required, actually it said I could use honey so I'll try that. Don't you dare try using Splenda or I'll personally come and knock you upside the head! The why not is here.

The blueberries and raspberries are supposed to be ready in another week or so . . . if I still feel like moving (which isn't very often with 4 weeks to go till the babe's due) I hope to go load up on those too.

Politeness in the midst of illness

This last week we've been fighting a bit of a cold bug. Agent H had the worst of it. He's always been susceptible to getting a cough when he gets a cold. He gets himself all worked up into a coughing fit and it just goes on and on. Poor fella! I've been experimenting with the whole idea of putting Vick's vapor rub on your feet to help with coughs. I'm using a more natural product but it seems to be helping.

In the middle of one of his coughing fits he worked himself into tossing his Fourth of July dinner back up. He was so sick. At one point as I dashed to get into position with the "catching bowl" I just barely reached him in time. Through his misery, he looked up at me said, "Good catch mom!" What a trooper! In the midst of his illness he was even excited that he got to sleep on the floor of the bathroom that night.

In the middle of all this, the neighbors were still busy setting off fireworks . . . until 1:30AM! Poor Little E woke up crying nearly every hour as he couldn't settle down from all the noise. It wasn't a great night.

Grocery shopping on a budget

Eeeew! That summed up my feelings regarding grocery shopping on a budget. How on earth am I supposed to keep track of all that goes into my cart while maintaining the management of my children. I might add that being 8 months pregnant has made any task that I do physically uncomfortable and take longer.

We've been watching our Dave Ramsey videos so I felt I was up to the challenge of grocery shopping -it helped knowing I have a good friend who is also doing this with me! I have come to the conclusion that I actually kind of like it. It felt really empowering to know that I was shopping with a very specific plan and knew what I was spending rather than the inward groan I would often feel as I heard my total announced at the checkout.

We still have some bugs to work out of the system, like our TP dilemma of last month but we're up to tackling another month. I still don't feel like we're coming out ahead as this takes a lot of patience. There are so many things I'd like to order/buy to prepare for this coming baby or for homeschool but I'm having to learn to wait. It's partly the organizer in me that wants it all done ahead of time. Ah well, like DR is so well known for saying, right now we're going to "live like no one else so that later we can LIVE like no one else!"

Ultimate Homeschool Expo

I had hoped to make it to a homeschool conference this spring but it just didn't happen. So, I was intrigued to hear about another conference that I could attend online. It was The Ultimate Homeschool Expo hosted by Cindy Rushton of Talk-a-Latte Cafe. I hemmed and hawed over spending $40 for this conference - I am not super into virtual stuff so I was a bit leary. I took the plunge and am so very happy that I did.

I had the option of attending the conference online (via magic that was beyond me) or to download all the completed lectures via iTunes. I think I even impressed EH will all the downloading I was doing. Besides all the podcasts (200+), there was the mommy grab bag. It was links to TONS of free copywork pages, notebooking pages, legal advise, home and school worksheets, ebooks, and so much more. My trusty iBook was really put to the test and the hard drive is packed!

In the evenings I am frequently found planted on the couch stitching a baby quilt and listening to the podcasts (as EH catches up on the latest Deadliest Catch). I'm now hugely intregued by the Charlotte Mason way of schooling, finding meal planning/baking inspiration, parenting advise, children's learning styles and so much more. I think the money was very well spent. By the way, even though the event is over you can still buy a ticket and download all the lectures (and I think the grab bag stuff). It is possible that the price has gone up though . . . not sure. Thanks to Supermom's for the tip on this convention!

Girly reading chart

I can't stand how darn CUTE this reading chart is! Necessary Chocolate made it and has it available to download for free on her blog. I really haven't done as much reading as I'd like to this summer and don't anticipate that to change but I just like looking at the little graphic of the girl in her hammock reading a book. Such a delight!

TP Warning

A warning to any visiting family and friends for the month of June:

The monthly cash allotment for toiletries was spent as of June 10th and there are only three rolls of toilet paper left in the cabinet. Use sparingly or you'll have to use the cloth TP I've been threatening about. You can send your note of thanks to Dave Ramsey.

Breakfasts

We've been stuck in a cereal for breakfast rut for about 12 years or so. I grew up on cereal too so really longer. We love cereal though so there haven't been many complaints. However, organic cereal is pricey, plus I've heard many times the benefit of eating a more balanced breakfast. I picked up an ebook called Breakfast for Busy Moms over at The Urban Homemaker and I've loved her ideas.

So far we've tried:
- Puffed Apple Pancake (3 of us finished up a pan made to serve 6!)
- Apple oatmeal
- Scrambled eggs (I had never thought to add Braggs Liquid Amino Acids to this before - yum! It is a non GMO version of soy sauce)
-French breakfast muffins (for Father's Day)

And this morning might be one of my favorites . . . strawberry/blueberry smoothies with scones and raw honey (frozen left overs from Sunday's morning family snack). I'm looking forward to trying her oatmeal pancakes, baked oatmeal, pancake and waffle dry mix, sticky buns, etc! I love breakfast food!

Something I've started making for EH is egg/english muffin sandwiches (since he's been leaving for work pretty early these days). Add some cayenne pepper to the eggs and he's a happy camper. For now I've been making them the evening before and then he pops them into the toaster oven. I found a recipe for making up a batch of these and freezing them - I think I'd like these even for lunches. I might even try my hand at homemade english muffins - no commitment yet.

By the way, The Urban Homemaker has a free ebook at her website called Fast and Healthy Meals for Busy Women and she has her bread, batter mixes and lots more in there.

Summer schooling

Agent H and I started working our way through this wipe-off activity book today. His goal was to make it through 7 pages. I think we did about four and a half cause it was pretty involved. I grabbed my quilting and stitched vines as he chugged his way through the long and short sounds of the vowels.

Potty training take II

I haven't said a whole lot about potty training 'cause there really hasn't been anything to say. The past few days Little E has shown some interest. We haven't been pushing the issue but we do talk about it.

So today he's been especially interested and he was excited to wear the training pants. Wouldn't you know that I forgot to follow up and before we knew it we had a dirty diaper to deal with. Oh dirty training pants are not fun - you know - "it" gets all up and down the legs when you take it off. Ugh! I put him in a diaper for nap time.

Just 5 minutes ago he stood up and declared "potty!" so we raced upstairs to give it a go. We were too late to make the toilet but I'm thrilled that he realized what he was doing. Also when I went to put a diaper back on him he insisted on "Underwear!" So we'll give my other pair of training pants a try . . . I'm hoping the next clean up won't be as messy.

Pita Love

I can't believe it took me months to get up the courage to bake pita bread. I put my hands to it the other day and I was so very impressed with how easy it was to make. I had myself all prepped for the first batch to be a flop - I mean how do you get them to bubble and be "open" on the inside? They baked up into perfect little pillows in the oven and looked just like store bought ones when they were done. Another plus, there are only 4 ingredients in the recipe making them a great money saver. The other day I ate spinach and egg salad inside freshly baked pita for lunch - so delicious! One more plus, the pita bread doesn't crumble like my homemade bread does so it means less clean up under the boys' chairs after they eat.

Per request :) I found my recipe in an e-book called A Beginner's Guide to Baking Bread by Marilyn Moll over at urbanhomemaker.com. The book is $9.95 but if you watch her site or sign up for her newsletter I think she has lots of sales or deals where she'll bundle a bunch of her e-books for sale.

Preschool Graduation

Today we celebrated Agent H's end of preschool with an ABC party. It was very similar to his party last year. His buddy from down the street joined in the fun.


Here they are doing an ABC hunt using the circle letters (it's called circle alphabet file folder game) from childcareland.com - I love the stuff they have available for printing here. Then I used a simple chart that I made for H to bring on grocery shopping trips. I'll post the PDF when EH has a chance to help me figure out how. I give Agent H this chart and pencil and he hunts through the store (always nearby of course) for all the letters on the chart, circling them as we go. He is so motivated and quiet as he works through this - it's been very helpful when shopping with kids.

The boys rolled out pretzel dough and made their initials and whatever else struck them, snails and chunks seemed to be the most popular. We played an AB Seas fishing game, ate lunch, then decorated brownies with frosting and candy letters.




Here they are drawing letters and then just having fun in plates of chocolate syrup.








We finished up the party by making super hero belts with their initials. They love to play super heroes so they really took to it! I found the templates for these at familyfun.com. I didn't have a whole lot for extra belts so we made our belts out duct tape.

School is out!

We finished up the last couple of lessons of preschool - whew! There wasn't much left to do so it kept not getting done. Anyway we wrapped things up last week. Here's Agent H proud of his completed color book.

Yesterday he went to the zoo with a buddy and the buddy's mom said that when they were asked something about what grade the kids were in he told one of the workers that he "made it all the way to 'Z'!" Way to go Agent H!

Maternity ware

Can one adequately express the relief found in finding a maternity shirt that actually covers a swollen belly but doesn't feel like you're wearing a sheet. Or a pair of maternity pants/shorts that actually stay above the lump without being hitched up every 10 minutes? Or having a husband who tells you once you're back from Home Depot that you have your shorts on backwards. I guess he at least told me before we went to the open houses and church.

Financial Peace Weeks 4, 5, and 6

These weeks focused on dumping debt, how to handle your creditors, and how to wise up about your purchases.

Thankfully we only have one debt (besides our mortgage) and we just mailed in the final payments on our credit cards!

I am so grateful that we have not had to deal with creditors. This lesson had a plan for how to prioritize your creditors and how to deal with them if they are harassing you.

The lesson on purchasing was helpful in teaching us what to consider when making big purchases like cars, furniture, etc.

There you have it!

Bug Defense

Our backyard is mosquito infested. I'm not a big fan of bug spray cause once the kids are done outside and come inside I feel like they need a bath so they don't rub it off all over the inside of the house. However for those times when the swing set calls, we've found a great bug spray that actually works and it doesn't contain any DEET. The adult version has some parabens in it but the kids version doesn't. It's this Herbal Armor by All Terrain.

We're going to try out some non-toxic bug spray for the yard in hopes that that will help reduce the mosquito population (it smells very strongly of garlic!). I'll let you know how that goes. One other option that we've seriously considered and that we will probably follow through on is a bat house. Just saying that makes my skin want to crawl but EH insists that they are harmless and they could really help cut down the bug population. Since I really want us to be able to enjoy our backyard I'm willing to give it a shot.

Girl quilt

A work (the girl baby quilt) in process.

Smell that?

Agent H's words every 5 minutes as the bread bakes "Mom, as soon as the bread is ready, I'M READY!" He loves fresh hot bread - who doesn't? I use the recipe here at the Urban Homemaker.

I'm dreaming of someday owning a Bosch and a grain mill so I can make my bread even more nutritious. Did you know that whole wheat has 26 naturally occurring vitamins and minerals in it? The refining process used to make the flour we buy off the shelves or in loaves of bread destroys those. White refined flour has four B-vitamins added back in but they are not even the correct proportion. Making bread sounds like a chore but if you have a mixer, you'd be surprised at how fast it goes together!

Financial Peace Weeks 2 & 3

For week two of our online Dave Ramsey financial class Ga came over to watch the boys and we hit Baker's Square (because they have WI-FI and are open later then the coffee shops, oh yah and there is the pie!). It was a bummer that we couldn't get the video to work (I guess the WI-FI didn't work as we had hoped) so we sat there piled into a booth seat, shared a pair of ear buds and just listened to the session. We had a great time and kept cracking up over the humor. DR spoke a lot about the frequent difference in spouses (the nerd and the free spirit). I wear the nerd hat and EH wears the free spirit hat - but I have to say that neither one of us are die-hard to those descriptions. Our assignment: to create a quickie budget. Done.

Week three we did out at my parent's house. In this session we went over financial forms and how to use them. EH and I paused it a lot to follow our own rabbit trail discussions. This is our first month trying to operate on the budget and as we were advised, it's not balancing out "right". They say it will take 2-3 months. What's one supposed to do when the amount you have budgeted for gifts should work (once it gets beefed up after a couple of months) but it happens to be a big gift month - ack! I guess it will be a good exercise in humility as I won't be able to give as I'd like. EH is the voice of reason reminding me that folks probably don't put as much thought into what we spend on them as I think they do.

This Sunday we plan to do double duty on our lessons as we're a little behind and we'd like to accomplish as much as possible before this babe arrives.

Don't underestimate the lure of $

At dinner the other day EH and I playfully discussed who we could get to pick all the dandelion heads from the backyard. (Getting down on all fours and digging them out is a little difficult when 7 months pregnant and of course I'm anti toxic weed spray). We mentioned that we might be willing to pay a little money for the job - Agent H could barely contain himself to his chair in his anticipation to claim the job. EH and I shared a "we're so good" smile across the table and Agent H was assigned the task.

Bucket in hand and doused in bug spray, Agent H disappeared to tackle the job as soon as he was excused from the table. During the boys' baths EH counted out 500 dandelions. We told Agent H that we would give him 5 cents a flower - ah maybe we should have done the math first. Actually I'm not sure doing the math would have helped cause I seriously thought he'd loose interest in the task after 10 minutes not 60 minutes. Our four year old racked up $25 bucks! The temptation to lean toward the fact that he doesn't understand the monetary difference between a penny and nickel was great for me - EH's integrity broke through and we paid up on the spot (as directed by our Dave Ramsey instruction)!. We explained about the joy of giving 10% to the church and saving 10% and then he could do whatever he wanted with the rest. He readily agreed. Last night I took him out to Target. He gave close study to the Lego isle and then chose a SpyGear spy case. He is so thrilled with his purchase and we are proud of him - even if our "we're so good" look has changed to a "we've been had" look.

Gluecola

Week 28 preggy appointment was a couple weeks ago already but here's a quick recap. I got to chug-a-lug a nice little jug of gluecola for my gestational diabetes test. In case any of you all are interested they are now offering a lovely lemon lime alternative. I stuck with the familiar orange. I was nervous about this test as my sweet tooth has been acting up and I'm not exactly sure what brings on gestational diabetes. All was clear -whew!

Baby Quilting

Nothing like cutting it a bit close but that's not new for me. I'm making (or planning to make) a boy and a girl quilt for our babe in the next 60 days. The idea is that I will bring it to the hospital and have their hospital photo taken on it. Agent H's was all done on time, E's was sewn but not quilted . . . we'll see what happens this time around.

Here is the inspiration for my girl quilt (found at quilttaffy's ebay store):
I love the soft colors and design of the Moda Simplicity fabric. Now if I can get the alignment right it should be easy cheesy.

For a boy quilt I have decided to embroider a blue snoozing bunny and some other sleepy designs from the Doodle Stitches book and boarder them in blue and light green fabric.

I have started the girl quilt first - just because I love the colors and they are so different from my life of boys. Agent H faithfully asks "when are you going to start the boy's quilt?" I wonder if he has some inside information?

A babe is born!

Today a baby BOY was born to my brother and SIL in Idaho! Big hugs to them!

I was shooting the breeze on the phone with my SIL (who was still at home with NO contractions) at 12:30 this afternoon and the baby was born around 3:30! I hope to get more details and maybe a picture soon.

My parents are now the proud grandparents of 9 biological grandsons and 0 granddaughters. Although, if the Lord wills, this same brother and his wife will be adopting 2 little Liberian girls and welcoming them into their home in the next couple of months. Their home could go from two children to 5 in just a couple of months. Whew!

Welcome new little one!

Tipping

I always seem to panic as I tip at restaurants. Did I tip enough, too much? Well no more. I found a nifty printable little tipping card over at itipping.com. It's small enough to fit in a wallet and will solve my problem. Just thought I'd share the resource.

It's good to be odd again

Yesterday I turned 33 - kind of weird seeing that in print. But, I love it. I would rather be an odd number than an even number any day. Don't ask why, just a weird quirk.

I think the age feels comfortable because I'm very happy with my life. I don't feel ackward as in school, flighty and giddy as in college, a new bride trying to figure out all that stuff, lost and confused in a church that just made me want to hide and cry, or like a new mom trying to have it all together.

I'm a wife and a mom - my little girl dream come true. I have a creative outlet through Etsy. Our church is starting to feel like "home". I have goals (besides making it through the next 2 months of pregnancy - have I mentioned lately that I'm not a fan of pregnancy, babies yes, pregnancy no) and I've seen some of them come to fruition.

Thanks for all the love I received from friends and family! I love you all!

Too conservative?

I just canceled my subscription to Cookie parenting magazine.

To me, the magazine was full of vanity. Yes it was mostly the fashion ads but there were so many and they were filled with such attitude, it was sad to me. I'm trying to raise our boys to be pure of heart and to look at women with respect. I've read (elsewhere) that even boys struggle with whether or not they measure up in terms of physical appearance.

Beyond the vanity were the articles. The one that comes to mind was an endorsement for women/moms to become involved in P*rn. (I don't think I can be googled but just in case, I'm not going to spell that out) Come on!! The article gave the impression that it was the norm and to be encouraged. I can't figure out how to express my anguish over the deciept that is poured into our lives.

So while part of me says I'm just being too conservative, the other part of me says I'm in a fight against the forces of . . . yes evil . . . in this world and if I error in parenting (which I will) I think I'd rather it be to be too conservative rather than too indulgent.

Geocaching

We did something so unbelievably cool! "Are you up for an adventure?" were the words of my friend JK, knowing that I've been a bit of a mess lately. Oh what the hey, sure! So after we (all of us plus her and her husband and youngest son - Agent H's good buddy who shall be referred to as Agent E) polished off most of the pizza we hit the road and went geocaching. I have no idea if I've even said that right cause I'm so unfamiliar with the lingo but it was a blast. They brought their GPS unit and the coordinates and off we went to go discover treasure hidden around a nearby lake. The kids brought back bouncy balls, PEZ dispensers, and toy police badges. We wondered down deer trails and were surrounded by raw, organic beauty.












Little E did a great job keeping up with us all. Most of the vegetation was at his eye level but he plunged ahead fearlessly. Time to go home and have some ice cream.

Garage Saleing 101

Have a very kind friend, give you all the left over boys clothes from her garage sale, pick you up a toddlers training bike for $1 and ride on train for a steal. No getting in and out of the car with tired cranky kids in tow or pouring over tables and tables of clothes. Later the boys surprise you with their enthusiasm over a fashion show. THANK YOU dear JK!

My Little Cubbie No More

Last Tuesday Agent H graduated from his first and only year as an AWANA cubbie. Of course it was the one night the entire year we forgot his vest. Later he told me he was so scared to be on stage to receive his bear award, but no one would have guessed it. He did such a good job on stage!

Swung to sleep

It was late afternoon and he'd been swinging for about 20 minutes - he just swung himself to sleep. His head kept lolling about trying to find someplace to rest and each time his head would jerk and loll he would instictively start pumping his legs to continue swinging. This post was from just under a year ago.

Spring is finally coming

Some pictures of us enjoying the spring that just doesn't want to come this year.

Train trip

A night away and all the trains he could shoot - my birthday gift to EH. I got a tip from one of EH's friends about this great place for train admirer's to visit. Agent H and Little E spent two full days with my parents so they also had a super special time too - thanks M&D! We wondered rail lines, lounged at crossings waiting for trains, chased trains in the car and parked to wait some more. We spent a lot of time just sitting together. Sometimes I sat in the car quilting, reading, and staying warm. The peace was nourishing.


More of EH's pictures are here.

Financial Peace Week #1

Last night EH and I watched our first online video session with Dave Ramsey. It was all about saving money. I really felt inspired that we can succeed in this. We've received lots of good financial advise by both of our parents so this really is not news to us. I think it's really about getting a plan, working together to make it happen, and holding each other accountable. I can't tell you the number of times EH and I have looked at each other and said "we should save for that" but somehow it didn't happen. Okay it's not that we don't save, we do. But our tax refund has frequently come to the rescue when the property taxes or home owner's insurance come due.

More to come as I hope to post somewhat weekly as a part of accountability.

Milk solution & the budget

We love our raw milk. It's thick and creamy and it's unspoiled by human intervention. It's also $3 for half a gallon and Little E can suck it down like a vacuum. This week I reduced our milk order and am going to start watering down our milk. This will lighten our grocery bill by $12 a month. If it goes well, I may reduce our order one more time for a total savings of $24 a month! While I could certainly get some slack by whole foods minded folks, I feel like this is our best option for now.

It seems all the basic recommendations that I read about in regards to cutting the budget just don't work for us -we've already done them. BUT, when it comes to the grocery bill, that is where I feel guilt. We eat probably about 80% organic, which does add up no matter how much I've read it's not supposed to or tried to convince myself it doesn't. I've gone into days of grocery remorse after reading a blog I frequent in which the writer spends $40 a week on groceries for her family of four. After confessing what I spend on groceries to a friend recently I wanted to eat my words and crawl into a dark hole somewhere. My one relief has been to hear Dave Ramsey state on his radio show that the average family spends $600 a month on groceries. Having learned my lesson I'm not going to say what I spend but I will say that it felt so very good to hear that average.

I would love to hear suggestions on how you slim down your budget. I should mention that I do sometimes make our own bread (as I feel I'm able), and beans are not an option as a member of our family gets seriously ill on them, and I'm involved in a whole foods buying club where I can purchase organic foods at a reduced price.

Oh, this is getting sooo long BUT - we've been on raw milk for a good three years now and I have had NO charley horses with this pregnancy! Huge for me as I usually wake up with them in the night while I'm pregnant! Maybe that means I'm getting really great calcium resource? Hopefully that doesn't change with the watering down. .

Experiment of the week

EH is very good at finding things on the net to watch with the boys. Just before bedtime I'll frequently find both boys piled on or around him watching some online informational program or other. Myth Busters and NASA related things frequently make the list. Apparently Robert Krampf has become a favorite of Agent H as the other day he surprised both EH and I by asking for him by name. This guy does a weekly science experiment that will put Agent H into giddy fits of giggles. Since EH has a natural interest for science/avionics/space etc. (which I severely lack) I'm thrilled that he can pass this on to the boys.

Note to self

Remember to wash off honey spout as Little E was found in a drunken sprawl sucking down the honey.

What I Won: 2

I also won (see below) The Dangerous Book for Boys from Frantically Simple! We've given this book away as a gift and I've thought I would love to own it as well. Agent H loves to study the naval flags and tell everyone about the naked pirate flag - ah yah, I'll just leave it at that then. . .

Heidi from Frantically Simple also mailed us some seed packets so we'll be planting a sunflower/hollyhock fort out back. It was fun to read Heidi's posts as we have a few things in common. For one thing, we both have fond memories of dirt hole forts. One summer my neighborhood buddies and I dug out a huge pit in a vacant lot. We carved shelves out of the walls and even scavenged old sheets of plywood to build a roof. It was cool down in the dirt and great place to lounge on hot summer days. EH has his own dirt hole fort memories - I think he even attempted a sleep over in it with his buddies.

Well thanks to Heidi for all the fun we're sure to have reading adventure stories and plotting dangerous activities!

What I Won: 1

Okay I know it's been awhile since the great Bloggy Giveaway has been done with but I never mentioned what I actually won, and I won some great stuff!

I was so very thrilled to win a copy of Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover! from The Happy Housewife. EH picked up More Than Enough a few years back after hearing Dave on the radio and was really inspired by it. I polished off TMM in 4 days and now EH is reading it. Since finishing the book I've now checked out his revised Financial Peace University and workbook from the library and am learning even more about money management.

You would think that with my dad being a financial advisor and very wise in the area of finance some of it would have rubbed off. . . he has been a great resource over the years but I've got to say that it feels like I never "took ownership" of the information. So last night EH and I signed up to do Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University online class. Feel free to take pop-shots at us as we cut up our credit cards and attempt to pay cash for groceries and what not. It should be an adventure!

Thank you to The Happy Housewife for getting us started on this journey!

A day enjoyed!

True I had to forgo the luxury of a Mother's Day bath because I had nursery duty at church but the rest of today was grand.

EH and the boys took me out to Potbelly's for lunch (EH has teased that it's an appropriate place for a pregnant woman to go and Agent H now enjoys calling me Potbelly on occasion).

After lunch we hit the nature trails by our library (a lead from our neighbor-thanks!) and hiked till we found the perfect spot to share our chocolate chip cookies.

A round of naps for everyone and then I prepared fondue for dinner. A rare treat we really enjoy. I think Little E ate rice, Agent H ate pickles, I ate an abundance of mushrooms and chicken, and EH took care of the bison steak.

To top off the night I happened to hear the music of the Good Humor man up the street. Agent H has been saving his Valentine's Day money from Grandma for months for just this purpose, so he claimed a tweetie bird ice cream snack and even bought his brother a Dora ice cream.

Tonight the boys will spend their first night in their new bunk beds. EH and I worked like crazy to prepare the room for them this weekend but that's another story for another day - pictures to come. I hope everyone sleeps well.

Final Trimester is here!

We have entered the final stretch of the race and we're headed for the finish line! Our third trimester is now a reality!

I called our doula yesterday to she if she can join us at the finish line. Honestly I don't think EH will show up for the birth if she's not going to be there. We love her! I think she's half the reason why I've been able to endure natural childbirth twice and strive to do it again. After feeling like crap for 4 months, then the "dark/depressed" days that seem to be far too many for me during pregnancy, the birth is where I feel empowered, ready to get my body back and hold a dear baby skin to skin. I get all choked up just thinking about it - 3 more months seems too long.

Blueberry sauce

Waffles with homemade blueberry sauce! YUM! The boys and I couldn't get enough of this.

1 1/2 c blueberries
3 T honey
1/4 c orange juice
Bring to a boil over medium heat.
Mix separately 1 T corn starch and 1/4 orange juice.
Stir into blueberry mixture and stir till thickened.

I think you can use Arrowroot as a substitute for corn starch (if you're trying to do GMO free food). I so rarely use corn starch I just haven't made the substitute yet.